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'I can't name a negative point' - Michel Vorm on Spurs and his new deal

Posted on 23 December 2016
- 12:15

Michel Vorm is loving life at Spurs, making it a no-brainer for him to put pen to paper on a new deal.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper joined us from Premier League rivals Swansea City in the summer of 2014 and, in the two-and-a-half years since, has proved to be a valuable member of the squad both on and off the pitch.

Playing 26 times in all competitions, he’s ably stepped in for Hugo Lloris whenever the club skipper hasn’t featured and, crucially, has maintained both his own and Hugo’s sharpness in training every day.

Not only that, as the oldest member of the squad, he’s helped to nurture some of our younger stars – something that he believes carries a great deal of responsibility.

Below: Michel speaks to Spurs TV

“I feel respected by the squad and I’m the oldest in the group as well, so that’s special in the way that you try to help the younger lads - not only the goalkeepers, but also the outfield players in achieving big things,” said Michel, who played for Utrecht in the Netherlands before spending three years at Swansea.

"To keep Hugo sharp too - I think that goes very well. The respect that I get from the staff and the connection I’ve got with everybody, especially with (goalkeeping coach) Toni Jimenez and the other goalkeepers – that makes me very happy.

“It’s special (to sign a new contract). When you come here you have expectations but you don’t really know what’s going to happen, although over the years I think I’ve done well on every level in the club and I think it’s very important for me to see how it is to be at a big club.

“The fact that I can extend my contract here is very positive. I’m very happy here, my family is very happy and I’ve got a lot of respect for the staff and the players. To be honest, I can’t name a negative point.”

It’s clearly been a great week for our goalkeeping department after Hugo also committed his future to the club, so did the news about our talismanic French stopper have an influence on Michel’s decision to extend his stay here?

Below: Michel takes over in goal from Hugo at Everton this season

“Hugo said ‘if I extend I want to make sure Michel extends!’” joked the Dutch international. “No, seriously, everybody has his own situation but yesterday I congratulated Hugo and he knows that I really mean it. He’s shown that he’s doing more than well and I’m sure that he’s very happy for myself and also him that I’ve extended my contract. To be honest, everybody is happy here at the moment.”

Never one to rest on his laurels, Michel says he’s been encouraged by the progress the team has been making under Mauricio Pochettino.

“I think everybody is maybe surprised that it’s going so quickly, but that’s also a big credit to the staff,” added the custodian.

“Mauricio Pochettino came here with his staff, obviously he did well with Southampton but to work at a bigger club is always much more difficult and he’s shown with hard work and with a certain vision that we’ve made big, big steps in the last two-and-a-half years and I think we’re still growing.

“Last season we had an amazing season, we ended up third and got into the Champions League, this season we were unhappy at what happened in the Champions League but it’s also a big, big lesson for the future.

“You can also see that with the new stadium coming up, Wembley sold out, things like that, we’ve progressed and we still compete with the top teams in the league so it’s been a great ride but we’re still going up.”

Below: Michel at Hotspur Way

Michel on the number of players signing new contracts this year“I think we’ve shown already that we can compete with the best. We have to take more steps ahead, we’ve got the new stadium coming up and this year we played in the Champions League for the first time with this group so these kinds of things are very positive for the future and I think to be a part of that is very special.”

On coping mentally with being second-choice goalkeeper“Everything was new for me from the beginning, I knew I had to compete and I think I did well. In Hugo you have someone who has shown over the last few years that he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and definitely in the Premier League, but one of the reasons that he’s doing well is because of us. Mentally you need to be strong, it’s not easy when you have to come on in certain games but I think I’ve done well. For me, it’s a different situation (to being number one) but I’m used to it now. I think I know my role, I perform my role well, I try to make sure I keep Hugo sharp and fit and when I get my chance I try to do my best.”

On working with our defenders“We do well, we don’t concede a lot of goals and that’s a lot to do with the communication and also the togetherness of the group, especially with the back four. It’s a very natural relationship. We work hard, we laugh together but we’re also very serious – we make sure that we know what we have to do and we can rely on each other. Over the years it’s only become stronger and stronger and I think that’s also what you can see – the togetherness, not only from the back four, but from the whole group.”